Closer
by Moro-moro
Summary: There were things that Fai knew Kurogane wanted-- a home and a family, for example. Two things that Fai, his magic, or his love could never produce. One day, Fai makes a very big mistake that begins with the words "I wish...". Mpreg, Nihonfic.
1. Prologue: Face Value

**A/N: **_OMG, I'm writing an Mpreg. O_O Lol. I like reading them, but I never imagined writing one. But this is special! This story was requested by Ileana425, and I couldn't help but agree. I think little KuroFai babies are just sooooo cute! *cuddles their love-children* It's shamelessly fluffy after some shameless angst. And their child is shamelessly adorable. Enjoy! _

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**Prologue: Face Value**

"Augh, goddamit Yuuko-san!"

Yuuko looked up from her perch, peering over numerous (empty) bottles of saké, the black Mokona, and captured chess pieces to the doorway where the racket was coming from. "My! How energetic we are today, Watanuki! And you've only just come through the door," she drawled, sitting upright on her cushions. Mokona nodded in agreement while it snatched a Knight off the board.

Watanuki came stomping in, dragging a bored looking Doumeki behind him. There was nothing new to this… save for the fact that Doumeki seemed to have no mouth. "FIX IT!" he bellowed.

Yuuko grinned, "Fix what?"

"He's got no mouth!"

"_Grammar_, Watanuki, dear; I believe the correct term is 'He _hasn't_ got _a_ mouth'. Besides, you wished for it."

"I DID NOT!"

"You said, and I quote," Yuuko sneered, waving her finger in the air, "_'I wish he'd just be quiet sometimes!'_ I granted said wish."

Watanuki tore at his hair, shaking in anger, "Why'd you have to take me at face value!" he whined, "I un-wish it! I un-wish it! Now fix it!!"

It was at that moment that Mokona's jewel started to glow, and its eyes popped open with a slight 'mekyo!'

"_Oooh_," Yuuko cooed, "That's Nihon calling, buh-bye!" She waved as Kurogane and Tomoyo were projected upon her wall.

Watanuki sighed, eyeing Doumeki; "Well, I guess the good thing about this is that you can't eat all the food."


	2. Wish One: Miscommunication

**A/N: **_Like I said-- shameless angst. It'll become more apparent in the next chapter though. I am obsessed with the thought of Kurogane rebuilding Suwa and taking up responsibilities for Fai. I think it's romantic. But then again, I'm just an odd person, aren't I? Next chapter will be posted soon ('cause, I'm, like, done with the story save for one chapter)._

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Wish One: Miscommunication

Nihon was a nice place, Fai supposed. Beautiful even. He liked it well enough, and he felt that, given enough time, he'd come to love this place. The weather was fair, gentle afternoons and crisp mornings were fading into pink blossoms that fell like the melting snow. It was spring; the young couples of Shirasaki castle were out wandering the grounds between errands and jobs.

Fai sighed, leaning against the railing of the balcony that overlooked one of the numerous inner courtyards of the castle. The sleeve of his kimono dangled over the slim wooden balustrades, waving slowly in the breeze. His hair—the part of it that wasn't clipped painfully tight to his scalp in that god-awful clip Tomoyo-chan had insisted upon—brushed against his face, which was contorted in a delightfully wistful expression. The few single men that wandered the walkways below would sneak furtive, longing glances at the castle's newest—and beautifully exotic—resident.

He wanted to be down there with Kurogane. Simple as that; he wanted Kurogane to show him around the castle like he promised before the battle in the ruins. He wished to be underneath the trees, arm in arm with his lover like he hadn't had the chance to before. But, no. In the few days they had been there Kurogane had been anywhere but in Fai's presence. But it was okay. He was here with the man he loved. He leaned back, lacing his slender fingers together, a tender smile on his face. He would eventually be able to do the things he wanted to—they had all the time now.

The screen doors slid open in the room behind him, and Fai looked over his shoulder, his smile widening as he caught a glimpse of Kurogane. He scrambled up, nearly tripping himself over the banisters, yelping as his feet caught themselves in the yards upon yards of excess fabric. He stumbled straight into Kurogane's arms, grinning stupidly, "Yaaay," he cheered, "Kuro-sama caught me!"

Kurogane scowled, "Careful." His eyes focused on the gardens underneath, "So I spoke with the princess. You're going to be taking lessons about the culture with her for a bit. I also spoke to her about my missions—I'll be back on duty starting tomorrow."

He didn't tell Fai about his conversation with Yuuko about rebuilding Suwa, or his wish for magical barriers to make it possible. He wanted it to be a surprise.

Fai curled his fingers into the material of Kurogane's robes, frowning slowly, "Already? Haven't you had enough of fighting?"

"I'm a ninja, it's what I swore I'd do," Kurogane said softly. "It's how I keep my place here."

"Keep your…? But this is your home," Fai mumbled, brows knitting in confusion.

"No. It's not," the man said, shaking his head; "As of right now, I don't have a home."

No, he didn't. Not yet. But starting tomorrow, he was going to build it. He was going to build a home for himself and Fai. "Now, can you please change into something that's meant for _men_?" Kurogane demanded, cheeks pink. "Like, with pants?"

Fai blinked; the ninja groaned, pointing a long expanse of snowy leg. Fai giggled, cuddling up to the ninja. Yes, everything would be perfect in time.

**X**

It had been nearly a year now. The weather was turning from bitter cold to pink evening flurries. And everything was not perfect.

"And do something about your hair," Kurogane said abruptly, eyeing Fai.

The blonde sighed, running his hand through his shoulder-blade-length locks; "I'll try," he murmured, standing on his toes to give the ninja a box of food, "None of it is sweet," he promised.

"Good. …Just… trim it a little…" Kurogane leaned down, taking the bento, whispering surreptitiously, "You look like a _woman_."

"Tomoyo-hime won't allow me to," Fai admitted truthfully, a not so truthful smile on his lips. "I'm her favorite toy now—you know that." His cheeks were pink in shame at being openly chastised by Kurogane; he stood, still arched forward, waiting for a gentle kiss like always. It didn't come.

Kurogane groaned, then flicked the reigns of his horse, "Get her to," he said as parting.

"Bye," Fai whispered, waving half-heartedly. He crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Kurogane ride off, trying very hard to quash the insistent ache that just welled up inside of him. He turned his back, the robes of his elaborate kimono swishing against the petal-covered ground. Around him, the wives of the other ninja continued to wave. One girl looked at Fai sadly, "It must be hard to be with someone as coarse as Kurogane-san."

Fai looked up at her, recognizing her as one of the wives who had just given birth. Her husband was an old companion of Kurogane's (well, as far as companionship went with the coarse shinobu) so he was well acquainted with her. He gave her a false, watery smile, "You know we're not really together. I've said it before, Misaki-chan, Kuro-sama just gave me a home when I had none. I think you are just simply misunderstanding his intentions."

"Yes, but," the girl sighed, "You two just seem so close not to be lovers, Fai-chan. I think you're the one misunderstanding," she murmured apologetically.

Fai flashed a bright smile, "Well... If you'll excuse me, Misaki-chan, I'd love to stay in chat, but I have an audience with Tsukuyomi-sama." And then he fled as fast as geta sandals would allow.

By the time he reached Tomoyo's chambers, he was trying very hard not to cry. He slid the doors shut behind him, "They're gone."

Tomoyo looked up from her game of shogi; "What did he say?" she inquired kindly.

"I need to cut my hair—I look like a girl."

The princess tutted softly, rising from her seat; "We'll continue the game," she said to her playing companion, a little gray ball of fluff with a purple jewel on its head (an offspring of the original two Mokona, it could do everything the white Mokona could, save for it didn't talk as much as the white Mokona did—an aspect had made Kurogane a very happy man). The miniature Mokona nodded, hopping to Fai's shoulder, nuzzling the blonde happily.

The jewel flickered to life, projecting Yuuko on the far wall; "Well that was _rude_ of him," she snorted, knocking back a glass of wine.

"Well, it _does_ need a trim," Tomoyo conceded, "I'll just take the ends off. But long hair becomes you, Fai-san… And while Kurogane is a little gruff, I think he likes it…"

"Ah… We've not talked in a long time… I think he's upset that people think I'm his mistress," Fai said wistfully. "It could be that we're nothing more than companions," he whispered sorrowfully after a long moment, his eyes falling to his hands, which were folded at his waist, light blue material gathering and falling about his slender wrists in delicate waterfalls.

Yuuko shook her head, "It's not that," she said knowingly. "Otherwise he wouldn't have asked me to set up a kekkai around the Suwa providence."

Tomoyo nodded, moving to a small stand across the room. She pulled out a small dagger, then made her way to Fai, "He cares for you." She directed him to a small stool, nodding; "Everyone can tell."

Fai sat still as Tomoyo gently cut away the length of his hair, leaving it brushing his jaw like it used to. "I think he regrets it," he admitted slowly, "One of his companion's wives had a baby recently."

"Oh, yes, Misaki-chan! A cute little thing," Tomoyo gushed, "I had to beg to let her design an outfit for the baby." The princess hummed, moving to Fai's front, trimming the front locks of his hair so he once again had bangs.

Fai wringed his hands softly, "He wants to have a family. He's gruff and everything, but I can tell that he misses the makeshift family we had traveling. I… I guess I feel bad that I can't provide him what he wants," he said with a sheepish chuckle, "A home and a family… I could never do that… I wish I could give him something like that, you know?"

"Well, Fai-san, you should just march up to him and kiss him when he comes back!" Tomoyo exclaimed, brushing through Fai's newly trimmed hair. "I'll make an outfit that even Kurogane couldn't say no to!"

Fai groaned—he didn't understand how seduction could fix anything, but he went along like a good magician. In the background, Yuuko was smirking quite deviously. _After all, Fai __**had**__ said 'wish'. _

**X**

Fai stood by the reflection pond, absently throwing bread for the koi. He was careful, though, because if he moved too much, his sleeves would brush the water, and he knew that Tomoyo would be irritated if he happened to muss his outfit before Kurogane saw him. Probably more than irritated if he knew the girl right.

"Oi! There you are!"

Fai smiled softly, looking over his shoulder. "Did you enjoy the food?"

"The box kept refilling—did you?"

Fai grinned mischievously, "You complained about rations," he said, turning slowly. He raised a hand, tapping his left eye, "It was just a _little_ magic."

"Tch," Kurogane grunted, examining the blonde, "Tomoyo had a field day."

"She _did_ cut my hair," Fai offered, gently pulling on the shortened locks. "Though, I'm afraid it grew back rather quickly."

"I'm talking about the kimono—would it kill her to let you wear men's clothes?"

"Probably," Fai laughed, "You don't like it?"

The ninja started, looking away rather quickly, "Eh… _no_," he mumbled in embarrassment; truth was, he really did think it suited Fai, even though he preferred the blonde unadorned. He felt that the magician's beauty was best left alone—too much dolling up washed away the simple appeals of creamy skin, peach lips, and silky hair. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the blonde's face fall, and his shoulders wilt ever so slightly before the customary smile was put back on.

"I don't either," the man cheered brightly. "Too hard to move in! …" His lips pursed, "How was…?"

"Lots of demons."

"Real or emotional?" Fai murmured, stepping forward, reaching out to lay his hand on Kurogane's shoulders. "It must be hard, going back—"

"It's not," Kurogane snapped. Fai faltered, his hands fell to his side.

"I'm sorry, Kuro-sama. I overstepped," Fai whispered politely, dropping his head.

"You've taken those lessons in etiquette to heart? You don't have to act like that around me; you can act like you used to." Kurogane regretted snapping, but it was already too late. He was just akward about talking about Suwa or his past... Fai had to be used to it by now, certainly…?

Fai smiled quickly; it wasn't as if those lessons with Tomoyo affected his behavior. "I spend so much time _without_ you, I _forgot_ how I _used_ to act," he snapped. He instantly regretted his words; "Oh, Kuro-sama, I'm sorry… I just… I miss you."

"Come here," Kurogane ordered, drawing Fai close. "I'm… I know I'm gone a lot. And… the kimono looks nice on you," he muttered begrudgingly. Fai laughed softly, leaning up to kiss Kurogane gently.

"It's _really_ hard to move in," Fai whispered, pressing his body to Kurogane's, breathing the ninja's heady scent. "I can barely even put it on right."

"Well," Kurogane grumbled, sweeping Fai into his arms, "I'll have to help you take it off."

Fai shivered, snuggling up as the ninja's hand worked into the folds of his kimono. "_Ah_… at least wait until we've reached the room…"

**X**

Kurogane pulled Fai deeper into his arms, the blonde boneless in his sleep. After a moment, he relinquished his hold on his small lover, sitting up; he arranged himself so his back was to the wall, Fai's head cradled in his lap. While he was clothed in a light sleeping yukata, Fai was naked under the sheets. Layers of his elaborate kimono lay in various states of disarray upon the floor, illuminated by a large, silver moon. Kurogane smiled quietly, stroking the man's long hair. It grew quickly. Like clothes, he preferred Fai's hair to its simple, shorter state. It was easier to admire when it brushed his jaw instead of his shoulders.

There came a tentative knock on his door. Fai whined in his sleep as Souma came creeping in. Kurogane scowled as the woman held up an official-scroll. Kurogane shot a meaningful look at the sleeping mage, but Souma shook her head.

It was something important. Kurogane sighed, hauling himself away from his lover. He leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to Fai's temple. He walked over to his wardrobe, pulling out his armor and sword. He snatched a scrap piece of paper and scribbled a hasty note to Fai explaining what had happened—he hadn't the heart to wake the man up.

He was in a hurry, so he didn't notice the paper fluttering to the floor.


	3. Interlude: Mysterious Things

**Interlude: Mysterious Things**

"Yuuko-san!? What is _that_!?" Watanuki cried in dismay from the treasure room.

Yuuko peeked from around the corner, "What?" she asked innocently.

Watanuki pointed at a large blue orb, which was glowing brightly, filling the dusty, glorified closet with an eerie light. Yuuko squealed happily, clapping, "Oooh, _yay_!" she squealed in delight. "Mokona! Take it away!"

Mokona sucked the glowing orb in its mouth, swallowing it whole. It burped after a moment, then grinned; "Safely transferred and planted!" it chirruped.

Watanuki twitched, "Do I even **want** to know?"

"I daresay you'll find out soon enough when Nihon comes calling," Yuuko said with a wicked grin, looking like she'd won some sort of supernatural lottery.

Watanuki suddenly felt very, _very_ worried for Fai and Kurogane.


	4. Wish Two: Misery

**A/N: **_Slight time-jump and shameless angst within. Yaaaaaay! ^_^_

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****Wish Two: Misery**

Fai wiped the back of his mouth, trying very hard not to gag. Tomoyo handed him a damp rag, frowning, "Fai-san, really, are you okay?"

Fai nodded, then stopped, turning his head away from the princess to empty the rest of his stomach of the little breakfast he'd managed to eat earlier that morning. "Nhg… Yeah," he croaked, spitting. "It'll pass, I guess. I probably ate something bad."

"This is the third time this week."

Fai shifted uncomfortably, running his hands through his sweat-dampened bangs, "Uh… not really," he admitted.

"It's been going on longer than _that_?!" the princess demanded. Fai gave a weak nod, sitting back on his heels. "Have you been to see a doctor, Fai-san?"

"I'm fine. It'll go away soon enough on its own."

"I'm calling Kurogane back from his mission," Tomoyo said, shaking her head, "He's the only one who _can_ talk some sense into you."

The color—what was left of it—drained from Fai's face. He reached out and grabbed the sleeve of Tomoyo's robes, shaking his head; "No, don't do that," he whispered. "It's not like I'm dying or anything…"

"Fai-san, he'd want to come back if he knew; he worries about you constantly."

"Don't," Fai insisted; "It's probably just the flu or something, it's nothing to get him raging on about."

"People _die_ of the flu," the princess said, kneeling down in front of the blonde man. "I'm going to call him back. You need to be taken care of, and you don't even try to look after yourself when he's gone—you just sit and pine."

"I do _not_ pine!" Fai spluttered, "Tomoyo-chan, I don't want to disappoint you, but you're reading it all wrong," he whispered, hunching over, his hands clasped in his lap; "He… we were never nothing more than traveling companions—it was nothing but one-sided love on my part… Or, if he ever _did_ love me, he doesn't anymore… Coming home changed that," he mumbled, his face coloring in shame. "Anything you see him do, it's to keep me quiet. He doesn't even bother to say goodbye anymore." Tears formed in his eyes, and he clenched his fingers into the material of his kimono, shaking his head to try and clear it. "It's all just to keep me placated."

How long had it been since they had actually talked together? Sat and laughed? Teased each other? When had it turned to nagging, sniping, and sex? When had the companionship and bonds fallen apart? No answers came. Maybe it was because there were none.

"…I'll talk to Yuuko-san, she'll know what's wrong… just… don't call back Ku… Don't call him back."

Tomoyo watched her friend, her heart clenching in sorrow; it hurt to see Fai disillusion himself. She'd had several heart-to-hearts with Kurogane, and even though it took a while, she'd managed to pull the truth from her ninja; the man really did nurse a tender love for the foreign blonde. He wanted so badly to protect and provide for the magician that it blinded him from what he was letting fade. She sighed—that had _always_ been the swordsman's problem: He hopelessly devoted himself to something and ended up forgetting what he was trying to achieve in the first place. But then again, Kurogane was fairly single-minded when it came to the blonde too—she knew the ninja always put Fai first. So how could Fai be missing all those soft glances that she _knew _Kurogane always shot him; why didn't he believe her reassurances? Maybe in that respect, he and Kurogane were very similar—stubborn, single minded, and _blind_.

"_Fine_," Tomoyo huffed. "But if it's something serious, I'm calling him back from the mission." Some residual part of her, left over from her days as Tsukuyomi, told her that something big was about to happen.

**X**

They had gathered in Tomoyo's chambers, Fai, the mini Mokona, and Tomoyo herself. Souma guarded the room to make sure that the trio would not be disturbed during their trans-dimensional diagnosis.

"Ah? Hello, Fai," Yuuko greeted lazily, looking up from a bottle of sake and a rather large piece of cake. "How are you?" she asked knowingly.

"Sick, I guess," Fai mumbled, resting the back of his hand against his mouth, trying not to gag at the sight of Yuuko's cake.

"How so?" A grin was spreading across the woman's crimson lips, and Fai gulped, nausea growing with anxiety.

"Well, I'm throwing up quite a bit… and I fainted the other day."

"You didn't tell me **that**!" Tomoyo scolded, "What am I going to do with you? _Mou_! You need a babysitter, Fai-san! Kurogane wasn't over exaggerating when he said you were reckless!"

The two bickered in the background as Yuuko raised herself into a sitting position. "How long?"

"Have I been sick?" Fai asked with a tip of his head.

"No, since Kurogane left?" Yuuko inquired, wagging a crimson-nailed finger.

"…What's it been, a month or so?" Fai guessed. He sighed, counting on his fingers. "The moon was full the night Kurogane left, there's been another in between then and now, and the moon will be full again in another… week…? Yeah. A month or two, maybe two and a half."

"Huh, he's been gone that long? When will he be back?" Yuuko inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"As soon as I command," Tomoyo said. Fai shrugged, "Yeah, he'll come running when _she_ calls. When he hears it's about me, he'll run the other direction," he said sullenly. The girl elbowed him in the ribs.

"Oooh, you don't want to manhandle him like that, Tomoyo," Yuuko scolded, "You might hurt the baby."

"Yeah," Fai said impishly, sticking out his tongue, "You might hurt the…_what_?"

Tomoyo visibly brightened, clapping her hands together idiotically. "Baby?! Are you serious, Yuuko-san? _Oooooh_! This is so exciting!" she squealed.

Yuuko ignored the princess's chatter, eyeing Fai, who was staring up at her, pale as chalk. He shook his head, once, twice, then stammered softly, "Y-you can't be serious."

"Do I _look_ like I'm joking?"

"Please, say you are," the blonde whispered desperately.

"I'm not."

"I… that's not possible," he muttered hollowly. "I'm a man. I might be gay, and I might be a magician, but not even _I_ can have children."

"You can, and you _are_."

Tomoyo grew solemn as Fai fell to his knees with a thud; "I assume that… Kurogane would be…?"

"The father? Of course he is," Yuuko said loftily; "Unless you're sleeping around with any other ninja…?"

The mage shook his head, trembling from top to toe. "No…" he looked up at Yuuko's image, his eyes wide; "Make it go away! I don't want this! Make it stop! Kill it or something!"

"Fai-san, you really don't want to kill your baby do you?" Tomoyo whispered in shock, "Surely not," she begged, turning her eyes to Yuuko.

"I cannot; if two wishes are made that are of equal price, I must grant the one that comes first. To create life and to stop it come of the same desires, and therefore, the prices are equal. Besides, to rid you of the child now would be murder; I cannot do that," Yuuko said somberly.

"I didn't wish for this! And I'm sure as hell that Kurogane didn't either—he's already ashamed that people think of me as a woman!"

"You _did_," Yuuko said; "You wished that you could give him what he wanted—children."

Fai laughed hysterically, crumbling further onto the floor, his head in his hands; "Oh, yes, _that_! Gods forbid that you take me _seriously_!" he gave one final laugh, then dissolved into tears.

What would Kurogane do? More importantly, what would _he _do? He was a _man_, for heaven's sake! He couldn't give birth; he couldn't raise a child. Not him, definitely not him. …What if it were twins? What if it hated him? What if Kurogane hated him after this? Fai gave a helpless moan, "I can't do this…"

"You can," both Tomoyo and Yuuko said softly.


	5. Wish Three: All Is Well?

**A/N: **_O-kaaaaay, that took longer than I thought. Two reasons (excuses?): 1) I was thinking of completely rewriting something in here, but I decided not to. 2) I was going to post it on the sixth, right after final editing... and I got sick. For the **third** time since **January**, I had strep. Irritating **and** miserable! (But I came up with some wild story ideas-- look forward to a story about a cursed cat (who's not really a cat) and a really confused human. O_O) **Anyways**! A few notes on the chapter: "akachan" is an endearing term for baby, and Kurogane gives me eternal problems with trying to figure out the inner workings of his character. All in all, I'm happy with this chapter. It's not my favorite (the epilogue is~ I looooove their baby sooo much *cuddles it*) but I love it anyway.

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**Wish Three: All Is Well?**

Kurogane arrived at Shirasaki castle tired, but rather satisfied with himself. Suwa would be completely habitable again in one more sweep; people had already begun to migrate there.

Their home was almost ready... He was ready to give the blonde everything he'd never dared to wish for. A home; a place to call their own. They could start a life together there. A small child rushed past him to latch upon one of the younger ninja and a small stab went through Kurogane. He'd never told anyone, but he was rather fond of children, residual from his own days as a child. Maybe one day, once Suwa was again settled, he could talk Fai into adopting an orphaned infant. Knowing the blonde, Fai would probably want to adopt them all—Kurogane knew Fai missed his own family of the kids and the manju, and on nights when the sky was clouded with gray, he would weep for his lost biological family—even the father he had once had in Ashura. It pained Kurogane to know that Fai was hurting for something; he wanted to do anything in his power to fix it.

He dismounted his horse, scanning the crowd of waiting people for the blonde—but the crowd held no sight of him. He frowned; he'd sent word ahead to Tomoyo that his unit was returning, and he'd been sure that the mage would be waiting for him after such a long leave.

He smacked himself mentally. Fai was mad at him, of course. The man was as temperamental as a cat, and he'd not said goodbye the last time, having not wanted to wake the sleeping blonde after such a long night. He'd left a note, but maybe that wasn't enough for Fai…? Ah, or maybe he'd not found it?

Kurogane swore under his breath. Their room was messy enough for the note to just simply disappear by breathing wrong… and if that was the case, he was already dead. Yesterday.

He made his way through the crowd, having all intentions of barging into their quarters, where Fai was most probably sulking, and then he'd… Well, he sighed sharply, well, they'd almost certainly fight for a moment, and then end the night tangled deeply in the sheets of their futon. He'd make it up to him; he was sure Fai wouldn't be so awfully mad at him once he was told the ninja's intentions of making him his official partner; of the trading of vows. Kurogane swallowed; just thinking about ruling Suwa with Fai made him nervous.

"Oi, Kurogane," Souma called, trotting up to her fellow ninja; "Hime-sama wants you."

"…Which one?" Kurogane inquired with a grimace. Just what he needed—an audience with one of the princesses when he knew Fai was angry at him.

Souma regarded him oddly, a cross between a smug grin and an awkward grimace; "Which one do you _think_? Tomoyo-sama, of course."

Kurogane rolled his eyes, rubbing his temples in irritation, "Look, I have to find the idiot—I think he's mad at me."

"How do you know that?" Souma cried after a moment's spluttering, "You've not even—oh… did he send you a letter like Hime-sama said he should've?"

"A letter? I've not heard from him since I left four months ago," Kurogane snapped, stomping off towards Tomoyo's chambers. God, had it been _that_ long?

Souma trotted behind him looking a little embarrassed, "Oh, then, forget I said anything."

Kurogane threw his coworker an irritated look, marching angrily through the castle, deep into the halls until he reached Tomoyo's quarters.

He heard voices behind the shoji doors; Tomoyo's carefree laughter and chatter, followed by a low, lyrical voice that seemed heavy with sorrow. Kurogane froze, his hand on the door, caught in the moment before throwing them open—that was Fai's voice. It had been a while since he'd heard the blonde's voice so subdued and mournful. He could almost hear the silent tears and the sickeningly sweet fake smile. He wondered what had happened that made it so.

"You said he was upset?" Kurogane queried, looking over his shoulder at Souma, who had already taken her guard next to the door.

The woman gave a curt nod, her hair swinging against her chin. "Very."

"What's wrong?"

"He's… unwell?" Souma said, running a hand through her hair absently.

"Seriously unwell?"

"… Eh… It's hard to explain—He's, well… uh… " She seemed a little embarrassed, gesturing in the air with an arch of her hand, nodding slightly.

Kurogane ignored her, throwing the door open, storming in.

Fai and Tomoyo sat opposite of each other, a tray of food and tea between them; Tomoyo sat upon a small chair, while Fai was curled in a deep cushion, nursing a small cup of tea and a plate full of food.

"Ooh, Kurogane!" Tomoyo cried, "I knew you'd be here sooner or later! Did Souma fetch you?"

Fai stared up at the raven-haired man for the longest time, his eyes wide in a terror that Kurogane had never seen before. Not even in the heights of their previous dangers—not even when faced with his past—had Fai ever looked so scared. His face was pale, dark smudges underneath his eyes; his hands began to shake, the small cup rattling in his hand. He carefully placed it down, turning away from his ninja lover. He continued to set his things down, slowly and deliberately placing each piece of food back onto its tray. The chopsticks rattled in his hand, and he soon abandoned them, choosing to instead use his fingers to put away the food.

Kurogane stared at him, dumbstruck for a long moment before it suddenly occurred to him that Fai's terror was directed towards, and caused, by him. A surge of white-hot anger hit him, almost bowling him over. It was inexplicable—why would Fai, of all people, be afraid of him!?

Tomoyo, with her ever keen eye, caught the slight narrowing of Kurogane's eyes, the way his lips twitched, and sighed; "Now, now, if we will all calm down," she soothed, "This can go as cleanly as possible."

"I can't stay," Fai whispered, paling even more—if that was possible. His cheeks were red, despite his paper-white complexion.

"Of course you can," Tomoyo said softly, her violet eyes turning to the blonde, full of concern.

The blonde shook his head, his trembling hands moving to his mouth. He rose shakily, the princess quickly following his lead, "Well, if that's the case," she murmured, nodding as Fai stumbled off into an adjoining room.

"Take a seat, Kurogane," Tomoyo instructed, looking back at her ninja, "You'll need it."

Kurogane opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the faint sound of retching from the other room. He froze, "…is he…?"

"Okay?" Tomoyo paused, the sounds still echoing, punctuating the question in the air; "I would hope so… But he's been more fragile than normal as of late, so…But he's not in pain, so… it's not happing again…"

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not my place to say. Why don't you check up on him?"

Kurogane nodded absently, moving to the other room in a second's time. He found himself instantly at the blonde's side, pushing back damp blonde hair and holding back the long sleeves of Fai's furisode as the slighter man emptied his stomach into a pail.

In a few minutes, he was finished, hunched over and panting harshly. He wiped the back of his mouth with a rag that was next to the pail, spitting slightly.

"Are you okay?"

Fai nodded weakly, straightening slowly. His hands went to his middle, his fingers sliding over his stomach for a brief second. Kurogane found the motion odd, but it seemed to calm the blonde slightly, and he stood a little steadier.

Kurogane wordlessly helped him back to his cushion, crouching next to him.

"How much of that was your nervous eating?" Tomoyo asked, looking at Fai meaningfully.

"…I… probably about half," Fai admitted, flushing.

Tomoyo chuckled gently, "Don't worry so much. It's bad for you both."

Kurogane was completely lost, "What the _hell_ are you two talking about?"

Tomoyo turned to leave, throwing a dazzling smile over her shoulder, "Fai will tell you!" she chimed happily.

Fai lurched forward, his mouth opening in shock, "No—I! Tomoyo-chan, I need you to help me—!"

"Bye! Don't mess the room up too much, okay?" and the young woman exited, laughing softly as the door slid shut behind her.

"What's going on?" Kurogane demanded.

Fai swallowed, "I did something very stupid," he whispered.

"What?" Kurogane's thoughts instantly jumped to the worst, as Fai had a history of doing reckless, dangerous—sometimes even fatal—things. All of those constituted as stupid, added to the fact that he was ill in some sort of way, Kurogane's mind filled in horrible details; an image of Fai wasting away to the same disease as his mother shocked him to his core.

"I… I know we're nothing more than traveling companions," Fai murmured, holding up his hand as Kurogane started to say something, "I—I know you're not… you're very nice, and I know you don't want to upset me— it's okay if you don't love me the way I do you, but I need you right now. After this is over, you don't have to do anything at all, because… I know you don't want me. All I'm asking is for you to be by my side for now, and to… Please, promise me you'll stay by me until this is over," the blonde begged, his voice trembling.

The warrior frowned heavily, and Fai winced, "Please, just… do it," he whispered faintly. He looked as if he was going to be sick again.

Kurogane reached out, taking Fai's hand gently, knowing the gesture calmed the blonde. Fai'd only been sick on one occasion, a slight case of food poisoning when they'd first arrived in Nihon, and Kurogane could remember holding the blonde's hand throughout the long night—it was the only thing that had calmed him. He knew Fai enjoyed simple gestures of tenderness—for them, holding hands was a very high level of intimacy. "Yeah, but just what are you talking about? I don't know what you mean." Fai was saying things that Kurogane couldn't even fathom; of _course_ he cared… He wouldn't think of leaving the blonde if Fai asked him to stay. In fact, he hated leaving him for his missions. He itched to tell Fai that they wouldn't be separated for long periods like this anymore—in fact, they'd be pretty much stuck together for good.

A sob broke through Fai's voice, tears falling down his face, "I did something stupid!" he cried, pulling his hand from Kurogane's, cradling his head in his hands, "I'm sorry! I've been in your way all this time and now I've done something like this! I begged her, I did, but she wouldn't take it back! I didn't mean for it to happen! I wasn't serious; I didn't even mean this when I said 'I wish'!!"

All the blood seemed to rush from Kurogane's face, and he suddenly felt very lightheaded; this had something to do with the Witch. Knowing Fai, he'd said something when he was upset, and she construed it as an actual wish, and god… was he _dying_? What would he do _then_? If he was, would Yuuko do something if _he _asked? "Wh…what?"

Fai shook horribly, crying loudly. He thought he'd be able to manage it—he'd practiced in the mirror, in his head, Tomoyo had helped him… he couldn't do it. He couldn't stand it. The fear of being hated was too much; the pain of imminent rejection lanced through him, and he curled against himself, cradling his body around the small, hard curve of his once flat stomach, protecting the baby from his own pain. He would give it up once it was born. He would leave this place once it was born. He couldn't stay here anymore. He couldn't make a home here with a bastard child, with a man who would hate him. It would be better for the child to be given away to loving parents—a man and woman who would be able to love it—and for him to go far, far away from it, save it from the misfortune, save it from the pain. He wondered if he could live long enough for it to be born. Bile rose in his throat, and he coughed against it, refusing to throw up again in front of Kurogane. Somehow, he managed to ignore the second option—that Kurogane wouldn't reject him at all, that they could raise the baby together. That thought never once passed his mind—he'd closed himself from it.

Kurogane was helpless against this, he hated to see Fai cry—it was something that was so indelibly heartbreaking. He placed a tentative hand on the man's shoulder, rubbing it awkwardly, "Fai, what is it…?" he pleaded.

Fai gave a quiet cry; the soft kindness and compassion in Kurogane's voice was enough to push him over the edge, to remind him of the days when he wasn't nagged at for his hair or his clothes or manners or speech… when he wasn't told to do a certain thing, where he wasn't left without 'goodbyes', when he was greeted with a gentle kiss and a soft twitch of lips. He wished he could be a mother in the truest since, he wished he could be a woman so their relationship wouldn't be something to be ashamed of, he wished… Why couldn't Yuuko have granted his wish _that_ way!? Why this way? Why? "I'm… I wished that I… could give you what you wanted; that I… could give you a family," he whispered faintly, the room spinning beneath him; "…I'm at about four months now."

"What?" Kurogane recoiled in sheer surprise; Fai, however, took it the wrong way, and he moaned quietly into his hands; "You promised!"

"No, no, wait, what did you say?" Kurogane inquired, gently maneuvering Fai so he could look the man in the eyes, "Four months? What does that mean?"

"That… somehow, I got… I'm… going to… I know you don't want it, and I don't either," Fai mumbled. Truth was, he wanted it so badly; he wanted to the little thing already, rejection and sorrow be damned, he wanted to hold the baby in his arms and smile at it… but… he knew he wouldn't be able to. It would look like Kurogane, or _worse_, it would look like him. If it looked like his father, he would die day by day, staring into the miniature face of a lost love; if it looked like Fai… He would go insane… "I'll give it to Tomoyo when it's born, she'll figure out what to do with it, and I'll… never ask anything of you again. You don't even have to think of it as yours…"

"Are you saying that you're… _pregnant_?" Kurogane demanded, eyes wide in shock. Fai flushed in shame, nodding softly. "You're _kidding_…" Had it only been less than an hour before when he'd thought of adopting children? What was it the witch always said? Destiny? The inevitable?

"No."

"Why didn't you _tell_ me?! _Fuck_! I would've come back sooner if I had known! _Four months_?! How… you're the most reckless person I know! Going on for months and months without any help or support! I mean, you had _Tomoyo_, but that's fucking Tomoyo!" Kurogane raged, "Damn, I could kill that woman! Not telling me! Couldn't she have at least arranged it so I wouldn't be gone? Stupid witch." He flipped off the ceiling, then turned to Fai, anger dissipating quickly. He stroked the blonde's cheeks, tipping the man's face up to his, "You've been eating right, haven't you? You're not the strongest thing ever, and you don't take care of yourself normally anyway… You're sleeping okay, aren't you? By the look of you, I don't think so… are you having nightmares? Insomnia? …I suppose Tomoyo's already started making you more clothes, and… well, everyone thinks you're a woman anyway, so we can hide that, and dammit… I can't take you to Suwa yet," he mumbled, "I'm sorry, the house isn't built yet…I was going to take you there anyway, and we could camp or something until—but not with you like this…And not with a baby—oh, _gods_, a baby…What the hell do you mean you don't want it!?"

It was Fai's turn to be incredulous; he'd never heard Kurogane talk so much at once—in fact, it sounded like he was babbling. It was like he was overdosing on the ninja's voice. He swallowed, wide-eyed. The ninja broke off mid-rant, staring at the paling blonde; "Fai?" he asked gently, quite evidently worried.

"You… don't… hate me?"

Kurogane shook his head, leaning forward, "You have some habits I absolutely despise, but despite that, I still… y'know… love you… I mean, you _do_ know that, right?"

Fai shook his head, "I thought you'd changed your mind," he whispered desperately, "Once we got back to Nihon and I wasn't the only one anymore. … You're actually quite popular among the women now, since you've been nicer…And you never said it anymore… I…"

Kurogane snorted, "I don't care what they think," he sneered derisively. He softened, "I do, however, care what you think."

"Then why? …You always nagged me about looking like a woman—"

"Because you're a _man_, for god's sake!" Kurogane snapped, "I figured _you'd_ be irritated! Besides, I fell in love with you as a man, and I don't—I mean, it's not like those furisodes look bad or anything…" he paused, both he and Fai blushing. The warrior cleared his throat, reaching out to stroke Fai's cheek; "I'm… bad with change. I like you looking like you did when I fell in love with you… And I'll _never_ say that again, so appreciate it!" he hissed, cheeks red as he pointedly looked away, scowling heavily.

Fai gave a quiet sob, shaking his head in disbelief, "You didn't say goodbye."

"I left a note… You were," Kurogane's cheeks darkened even more, mouth set determinedly in a frown, "You were cute sleeping and I didn't want to wake you up—I'd already kept you up more than half the night," he muttered quickly.

Fai swore softly, then launched himself into Kurogane's arms, apologizing weakly. Kurogane sighed, holding Fai tightly. "Dammit, mage, you're an idiot… …but I guess that's what I like about you," he amended slowly.

"Kurogane," Fai whimpered, sitting slowly in his lap, "I can't do it, though! I want… to be able to love it, but… it's another person!" Everything came tumbling out, one big breathless, tearful jumble as he quivered against the swordsman. The gravity of the situation struck him helpless like it never had before. "I don't have the right to bring a human into this world—after I've taken so many lives, how can I justify bringing in a new one? What if I kill it, too?! What if it's twins? What if it looks like Fai!? I couldn't stand looking into a face like that every day—I don't think I could love it if it looked like Fai…What if it grows up and wishes it was never born?!"

Kurogane's heart ached; he would trade everything to give Fai just a little peace from his past; "Hush, you idiot mage. Look, calm down. …Fai, we know… We know what hurts us, we know what mistakes were made in our lives, we know right from wrong," he whispered softly. He didn't like talking this much, but it was something Fai needed to hear, so he would say it. After this speech was over, he would continue to show Fai, gently and patiently, but swiftly and sternly, as he had always done before. He knew the blonde was still fighting battles with himself, and a child would test all the progress he'd ever made; it was his job as Fai's lover, and apparently a father, to help the mage as much as he could.

"We can raise it together, and we can hold it together. It won't be alone; it won't be without love. And I won't let anyone hurt you or the baby, I'll protect you both. We'll teach the baby together. I'm not sure if I can handle a child, so we can learn together; we'll learn how to hold it, teach it, and love it. If it's twins," Kurogane said slowly, trying to figure out the best way to comfort his lover, "Well, I can hold one, and you can hold one. Then we'll switch. We'll let them hold hands and sleep with each other; we'll give them the entire world and more. And if the baby looks like you or your brother, then we'll be very lucky… because it will be very beautiful when it grows up."

Fai trembled, then gasped very quietly, his hands flying to his stomach. Something had nudged him, very gently. It sent shivers through his body, "Oh!"

"What's wrong?"

"It moved," Fai whispered quietly. "Akachan is happy you called it beautiful."

Kurogane blushed, "Are you that far?"

"It was very soft feeling… And… that was the first time… But Yuuko did say small movements start at about four or so months for me," Fai said, eyes wide; "In about… a week it'll be four and a half months." He wrinkled his nose, his hands falling to his stomach, "I already have a belly," he complained in distaste.

Kurogane hooked his fingers around the collar of Fai's robes, looking rather hesitant; "May I?"

Fai gave a nervous laugh, "You are the father, after all." Kurogane gave a quick, jerky nod, sliding Fai's robes open. His fingers trailed down Fai's torso, his hands sliding down to rest against the gentle curve of Fai's once slightly-hollow stomach.

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Yuuko said she could tell me using magic, but… I refused…"

"Why?"

Fai sighed, leaning his forehead against Kurogane's; "I don't know… I would have probably agreed if you were here—it's just… this is just something I don't want to do alone…" he mumbled. He flushed, "Tomoyo-chan tried to convince me to choose a name other than 'akachan'."

"Oh? What did you choose?" Kurogane asked in slight excitement, even though a part of him was disappointed he wasn't able to help.

Fai nodded hesitantly. He peered up at Kurogane through his bangs, whispering, "It took me forever… Akari. Tomoyo-chan told me it means light."

"What if it's a boy?"

"…What's wrong with Akari for a boy?"

"It's… kinda… a _girl's_ name. I don't think I've ever met a boy Akari."

"So? Yuui's generally a girl's name where I come from," the man said, looking away with a defiant huff. "And I turned out fine."

Kurogane rolled his eyes; that was Fai for you. The magician turned, nestling into Kurogane's lap, his back snug against the ninja's broad chest. Kurogane wrapped his arms around Fai's waist, his hands clasped gently over the man's slight stomach. "What do you think, though?"

Fai hummed softly, his eyes sliding closed, "About what?"

"Whether it will be girl or a boy."

"I think a boy," Fai murmured, "Akachan's tou-chan is so manly…"

"_Well, I would _hope_ so_."

The pair started, Fai scrambling to right his robes while Kurogane cussed heavily. The little gray Mokona laughed along with Yuuko, whose image was now reflected onto the wall opposite of Fai and Kurogane.

"I hate to interrupt the touching scene," Yuuko said with an air of delight, "But it's time to discuss arrangements."

"What does she mean?" Kurogane hissed into Fai's ear. The blonde sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind a delicate ear, "She said she would talk about the price of the wish and such once you returned."

"You're not going to take the baby are you?" Kurogane snapped, eyeing the witch surreptitiously.

"I am a _witch_, not a troll, so you'd better watch your mouth if you want to see your baby born," Yuuko said, glaring at the ninja; "But there is a price, because, after all, I can't give away things like this for free. It was such a big job too."

Fai shifted, "What did you do?"

"Yeah, I'm sorta curious too, Witch," Kurogane mumbled, his hand finding Fai's. "What'd you do?"

"I planted a small spot of another dimension inside of your body the day you made your wish; it held until the night Kurogane left and his seed took hold, and then your magic did the rest to hold the separate space within you."

"Separate dimension?" Fai repeated, frowning.

"A part of a world where it's actually quite common for men to bear children," Yuuko said, picking up her pipe. "It will leave as soon as Akari is born."

"See, even Yuuko-san likes the name," Fai murmured, sticking his tongue out at his lover. But then something more pressing took a hold of his mind—something he'd not even thought of yet. "Uh, but…Yuuko-san, how will I, uh, have the baby?"

"I'll bring you here; I know a doctor who owes me a few favors," the woman said offhandedly, "In fact, he called me today and said he'd do it for me… He'll do it here. Most of the proceedings will be done with magic, but a small surgery will be necessary."

Kurogane and Fai looked at each other, mouthing 'surgery' questioningly. "Anyway," Yuuko continued, smoke wafting across her image, "the price for Fai's wish will be paid after the baby is born, although, Fai, you've already paid the price for my advice and aid."

"What was it?" Fai asked, confused. "I've not done anything for you lately… unless you happened to spy on Kuro-sama and I to plant that universe," he mused. Kurogane shuddered. Yuuko waved the idea off:

"Your pain—had you've chosen to call Kurogane as soon as you learned of your pregnancy, it would have been much smoother for you, and there would be a different price because I wouldn't have had to interfere as much."

"Smoother?" Kurogane inquired. "Interfere?"

Fai lowered his head, fidgeting; "I almost miscarried a few weeks in. It hurt so badly, I though both akachan and I had died…My magic…" He flinched, pressing himself into Kurogane's side. Kurogane drew his arms around the man, holding him protectively, his hands cupped over the blonde's stomach.

"His magic went awry because he didn't take care of himself," Yuuko interjected sternly, "Keep a close eye on him, Kurogane; Fai's not going to be the most stable person for the next couple of months—his body isn't used to the sort of magic it's working at all hours, so he's more prone to nervous breaks and panic attacks. He's also more fragile than a normal woman would be during pregnancy because it's a foreign experience for his body."

Kurogane nodded, turning his gaze resolutely to Fai. "I'll make sure he doesn't act like the complete idiot he is."

"…I'm feeling generous," Yuuko said with a gentle smile, "_That_ advice will only cost you this—I'm to be appointed the baby's second godmother, because I'm sure Tomoyo called dibs weeks ago."

"No way! With godmothers like you two, the kid will surely turn out warped!" Kurogane snapped.

Fai giggled softly, petting Kurogane's arm to calm him, "It's okay, Kuro-tou."

"_Damn_, I've always hated that nickname."

**X**

It was an odd reaction Kurogane had—he wasn't scared or nervous or even a little bit angry when Fai told him that he was pregnant… It set in later, after the initial shock and need to placate Fai wore off did he really start to worry.

Fai came bounding up, jumping upon Kurogane's back, "Kuro-samaaaaaa!" he cried, nuzzling into his lover's neck.

Kurogane growled angrily, "Idiot!" he raged, "What about the baby!?"

"Uwaaah! Kuro-sama's worried about you, Akachan!" Fai said, looking down at his stomach. He disentangled himself from the back of Kurogane's yukata, grinning sweetly, "But it's so boring just sitting there! I have so much energy!"

It was true. Kurogane could see Fai bouncing on the balls of his bare feet. "Is that normal?"

"Yuuko-san says so," Fai said noncommittally. "I brought you food." Fai nodded at the Mokona, who spat out a picnic basket so full that it would have even Yukito full afterwards. "It's heavy, though, so Kuro-papa will have to carry it to the picnic place!" Kurogane eyed the thing, then heaved it up. Even by his standards, it was a pretty damn heavy basket.

Fai grinned, walking away from the ninja in the direction of his favorite garden. It was there that they laid out their food and blanket. Fai settled in, legs tucked under him in his best attempt at seiza. He began to pull out food—bentos full of sushi and mochi. There were other things as well, but the bulk of the food was different types of sushi.

"I thought you didn't like sushi… Unless it got cooked," Kurogane commented, watching Fai tuck in.

Fai shrugged, struggling with his chopsticks before abandoning them. He picked up a piece of sashimi with his fingers, dipping it in soy sauce; "I don't," he said slowly, placing the food in his mouth. He chewed pensively, pouring tea into a small cup. "Raw fish is _nasty_."

"Then… why are you eating it?"

"I want it," Fai said with a shrug, picking up another piece. "I'm super hungry all the time, and the only thing I want to—or rather, _can_—eat is sushi. I throw up if I eat anything else; it's very strange. Akachan must _really _like sushi."

"But there is some I can't stand—it's really spicy and has this green stuff in it," he mumbled. Fai picked up a piece of sushi, shrugging before putting it in his mouth. "But you can't tell, because sometimes there's green stuff in it anyway," he stated, chewing between words. Suddenly, he yelped, his eyes watering as he fanned his mouth, whining.

Kurogane smirked, chuckling softly; "Like that stuff?" he teased.

Fai was torn between absolutely melting at Kurogane's gentle behavior or jump-tackling him for laughing. He swallowed the wasabi-laden food, and let the desire to punish his lover win out. He pounced on Kurogane, sending the man sprawling back on the blanket, straddling the ninja. "You laughing at me?" he growled, leaning down to nip at Kurogane's ear.

"Oi, moron, how many times do I have to tell you to be careful!?" Kurogane raged, reaching out to balance Fai atop him.

"I landed on my nice soft puppy, so it's alright," Fai hummed, grinning down at the shinobi.

"And if you missed? Huh? You're already delicate enough—I really should make you stay in bed," the darker hissed, brows furrowing.

Fai's face fell, "No," he whined, "That's so boring! Don't do that!"

"But—!"

Fai smiled softly, almost sadly. He knelt down, pressing his cheek against Kurogane's neck; "I understand," he whispered, "You're scared enough as it is, aren't you?"

"I'm not scared!" Kurogane blustered. Then he paused, swallowing. He let his hand slip from around Fai's side to his stomach. He could barely feel the soft curve underneath the layers of the mage's robes, but he knew it was there. Fai leaned back, staring gently into Kurogane's claret eyes.

Truth was, the entire deal terrified him much more than he wanted to admit. Yuuko had said that Fai was frail because of his unique situation—how much so? Would childbirth kill him? Would it hurt the baby? How would Fai handle a child? How would _he _handle a baby? He wasn't as strong as the front he put up for Fai's sake.

"You're scared, my love," Fai whispered, "I am too. I didn't take care of myself at all those first months; Yuuko-san had to intervene so I wouldn't loose our little akachan. My magic went haywire—my magic sensed my despair and tried to… Yuuko-san says it's not doing anything more than keeping the separate dimension in my body open now… but it…what if it happens again?" He shook his head. "And my Kuro-tou is probably worried about me and the baby, aren't you?" He reached down and laid a slender hand over Kurogane's; "I love you and I love our child—I won't do anything that would hurt you or it," he swore. "Not anymore. You won't let me—_I _won't let me."

"Good," Kurogane said thickly after a moment. He reached out, threading his mechanical fingers into Fai's hair, gently pulling him down; "I was worried you'd do something stupid and reckless."

Fai smiled, laying his lips against Kurogane's in a gentle kiss; "Who me? I would never!"

They lay like that for a long while before Fai stretched atop of Kurogane, careful of his stomach; "I'm hungry," he whined.

Kurogane rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever; you always are lately."

"I resent that," Fai snapped sullenly. "…my head hurts too."

**X**

The next five months went smoothly. Kurogane refrained from leaving the castle, sending out the makings of his own troops instead. Fai refrained from doing anything that Kurogane deemed 'reckless'—which meant basically everything, the blonde reflected with a soft smirk. It was cute how his puppy worried, even though it was irritating sometimes (like at about five months when he suddenly had the urge to have sex and Kurogane had declined and resisted every effort at seduction). But it was completely and utterly adorable, so Fai endured.

At the moment, he was seated as comfortably as he could be in Tomoyo's chambers, enjoying tea with his lover and the princess. His stomach had swollen so much that it was hard to sit normally, or balance at all. His body wasn't accustomed to the extra weight he had gained from the baby; his back and ankles ached constantly, and the baby was healthily energetic, much to Fai's joy and dismay—it was starting to hurt a lot whenever the baby kicked or stretched. Both Tomoyo and Yuuko swore he was due very soon, and Fai was anxious to have his baby. He loved his akachan, but it was very, very uncomfortable.

"I don't understand," Fai murmured gently, shaking his head, "Can't it wait until the baby is born?"

Kurogane looked over at Fai with a frown, nodding in agreement. Anyone could see that Fai was due. The wives of the castle fretted over him constantly, insisting that he stay in one place. They were worried that he would begin labor where no one could help him. Fai was concerned about that as well, but even though he was exhausted, he was restless. He wasn't the type to stay in bed, even though his belly and swollen joints were making it very hard to move about.

"Surely it can wait a few more days," Kurogane snapped, folding his hand around Fai's. He rubbed the blonde's palm with his thumb. Fai looked over smiling gently; he was amazed at how patient Kurogane had become throughout the entire pregnancy. He endured odd requests, mood swings, and dutifully denied all of Fai's complaints of becoming grossly obese.

Tomoyo shook her head; "I'm afraid not," she murmured, "It's urgent. Only the lord or lady of the providence can settle this kind of dispute. I've already stayed the argument as long as I could, but Lord Shiro grows impatient; he says he will not wait for Fai to give birth. He simply refuses."

Kurogane growled, "That bastard can shove it up his little fairy ass."

Fai watched calmly as the two bickered, sipping his tea quietly, looking forward to the days where he would be able to intervene once more.

Kurogane was in the middle of a string of particularly explicit curses when Fai gasped, his cup falling from his hands to shatter on the floor as he clutched at his stomach.

"Oi!" Kurogane lurched forward, wrapping his arms around Fai's shoulder, "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Fai grunted, looking up with a pained grimace, "Akari doesn't like it when tou-chan is angry, I think," he muttered, rubbing his stomach. He smiled at Kurogane, "Akachan's going to be very strong one day, judging by the way it kicks."

"Shit, you scared me," Kurogane growled, rubbing Fai's lower back, "I don't care what you say, you need to be in bed. You'll hurt yourself carrying on like you are when you're _this_ pregnant." He turned his gaze to Tomoyo, sighing, "Tell Shiro that he's got a stick up his ass and when his little lady gets pregnant I'll create hell for him too."

"I do believe Kamui-san is gay," Tomoyo said lightly. Kurogane's face went blank for a minute as he and Fai exchanged looks of amused horror.

"Kamui, huh?" Fai murmured lightly, looping his arms around Kurogane's neck, "If he's got the same temper, you might want to deal with him."

Kurogane grimaced thoughtfully, lifting Fai easily into his arms. "Maybe… look, I'll come back to talk about this, Tomoyo."

Tomoyo laughed at her ninja's reluctance to leave Fai for even a second. It really was cute; she was glad that the problems they'd been having nine months before had been smoothed out. Now they were closer than anything—it seemed that Fai had more than one wish granted. "Go, go, but don't tarry. We'll work something out that will enable you to return to Fai-san's side as quickly as you can."

Kurogane nodded as the gray Mokona jumped on his shoulder.

"Mmm, you know all the wives are very jealous," Fai commented; "They say that none of their husbands are as gallant as my Kuro-tou. I've got to be heavy now."

Kurogane rolled his eyes ignoring the last part of Fai's statement, "Well, all of them are actual women whose bodies are made to cope with being pregnant," he pointed out, "You, on the other hand, can't even walk right now."

Fai sighed, "I didn't think I'd get so _big_."

"It's 'cause you're so damn tiny. You look good with a little extra weight—healthier."

Fai laughed, wobbling as Kurogane set him back on his swollen feet. He leaned against the wall outside their room, smiling gently, "Come back soon, okay?"

Kurogane leaned down, kissing Fai deeply, drawing the other as close as Fai's stomach would allow. "As soon as I can."

Fai leaned up, curling his fingers into Kurogane's clothes, "Don't leave me," he whimpered. "Let the dispute go to hell, please, stay with me."

Kurogane's resolve withered. He leaned forward, stroking Fai's cheek with both hands. Fai hummed softly, the hot and cold touch of Kurogane driving him crazy with want. He couldn't wait for their baby to be born, for them to start their new lives for real, until he could lay with his lover again. "Fai, I have to do this," he murmured gently. "I'm not being fair to you at all, but this is something I must do."

"To hell with fair," Fai grumbled irritably, "If it's something you have to do, do it… Just come back quickly and safely."

Kurogane gave Fai a rare, tender smile. "I will," he promised, opening the sliding doors for his lover.

Fai slipped inside, watching Kurogane walk down the halls. He left the screen door open, some odd feeling niggling in the back of his mind. He held the little Mokona in his arms, nuzzling the creature gently, "I feel very odd Moko-chan," he whispered, leaning down so he could climb into his and Kurogane's slightly raised futon. He settled into the bed, curling around his stomach, smiling quietly; "You'll be born soon, akachan; you'll look like your daddy, huh?" He grunted softly as another shot of pain jolted from his stomach; "You've _certainly_ inherited his strength, little one…" his voice trailed off as he yawned, drifting into a light sleep, his lower back pounding with a dull ache.


	6. Wish Four: Family

**A/N: **_Sorry, that took a bit-- I got distracted by Gothix. XP Sorry~! There's one more chapter after this, simply because I couldn't just finish it without showing you the adorableness that is Akari._ Enjoy~!

* * *

**Wish Four: Family**

"Is there anyway to get Shiro _here_?" Kurogane asked, frowning deeply. "I don't want to leave the castle grounds."

Tomoyo nodded, "I think it would be best if you didn't," she agreed; "Fortunately, I've never lost my insight, so I invited the disgruntled lord to take council here."

Kurogane sighed in relief. "Then I'll go tell Fai that—"

"_Un_fortunately he's insisted that you escort him from his camp outside the castle grounds."

Kurogane cussed irritably; "Fine. I'll go get a damn horse. If anything happens while I'm gone, get me immediately, whether Fai says not to or not."

"I have a strong feeling he'd deny going into labor if you weren't here," Tomoyo teased.

"He'd better!" Kurogane growled, "I don't want him to do it alone like he did before."

Tomoyo smiled softly, "Then go. I have a feeling that it will happen soon. And you remember how my feelings generally turn out."

Kurogane nodded, leaving swiftly.

**X**

Fai woke up drenched in sweat and in pain. He groaned as he tried to sit up, a pounding ache shooting through his back. He finally managed to slide himself out of the bed, hair sticking to his face and neck; when his feet hit the floor he crumpled, almost crying out in pain. He lay there for a moment as the sensations faded. He struggled upwards before another wave hit him. He groaned, digging his fingers into the hems of his robes. He leaned forward, panting before another bout of pain hit him, nearly crippling him.

"Dammit," he hissed. The pain subsided slightly, dulling to a throbbing in his lower stomach and back. He could feel his magic buzzing underneath his skin for the first time in his pregnancy. It was similar to the crippling pain of his almost-miscarriage. It was then that he realized what the pain was. "Of all the _times_," he moaned.

Another wave hit him, sharper than before. He gulped down a harsh cry; "Moko-chan," he whimpered. The little gray Mokona peeked over the bed down at Fai's crippled form, hunched over his swollen stomach.

"Moko-chan, get Tomoyo-chan," he ordered between sharp breaths. "Tell her the baby's coming—and make sure she gets Kurogane! Or _else_!"

**X**

"I had thought you wouldn't come," Kamui said haughtily, staring at Kurogane irately from his horse. "I would have hated to started tensions with a newly restored province, considering my father and yours were such good allies."

"You're fucking lucky I did—my—"

"I know, your lady is about to give birth. But it's just one child—you can have others—isn't that what women are for?"

Kurogane snapped; he reached out, snatching the front of Kamui's robes, hissing in anger. "You say one more thing about my lover and I swear to god I _will_ kill you where you stand," he spat, raising his fist to strike the man.

"_Kurogane_!"

Kurogane started, looking out to find Souma on a horse, racing towards the two nobles. He dropped Kamui unceremoniously, urging his horse to meet Souma. "What?"

"—Fai-san! The baby's—" She said sharply. That was all Kurogane needed—he spurred his horse forward, disappearing in a cloud of road-dust, the rest of Souma's message lost in the sound of galloping hooves.

**X**

Fai trembled, gritting his teeth, breath hissing out between his teeth. Tomoyo laid a cloth against his forehead, stroking his hair in an effort to comfort her friend, "Don't worry, Fai-san, Kurogane will be here soon. He and Souma have the fastest horses in Nihon," she soothed.

The blonde gave a shuddering gasp, nodding weakly.

"He can't wait for too long," Yuuko said from her portal, a long hallway of black and miasma stretching out behind her; "It would be bad for the baby."

"Just… a little bit longer," Fai groaned, digging his nails into the futon. He struggled to sit up, Tomoyo guiding him. "Kuro-sama… would be so… pissed… off… _aahhn_!"

"How long have you been in pain?" A lithe man with glasses asked. Fai looked up with him with blurry eyes— he was the doctor Yuuko had been talking about, a man named Kakei. He seemed nice enough, but behind his eyes, Fai could see the same sort of daunting magical edge that Yuuko herself carried.

"Since before I woke up," Fai said between gasps, "I thought the baby was just kicking."

Kakei nodded, "And that was…?"

"When Kuro-sama left…"

"About an hour ago," Tomoyo supplied, "He should be soon, Lord Shiro was only camped a little way from the castle."

"I can give you a few more minutes before we get you to a more stable environment for your magic, Fai-san," Kakei said kindly, glancing at his watch. "It would be bad if you remained in labor here for much longer—your magic would take over, and that wouldn't be safe without wardings."

It was then that Kurogane burst into the room, sweaty and dirty, looking quite imposing in his armor, katana belted to his side—that however was negated by the uncharacteristically distressed look he had on his face. "Fai?!"

Fai looked up weakly, waving; "Hi-hi," he groaned. "I was stupid, Kuro-sama…_Hahn_!… Didn't realize that… Oh, _ooww_!" he yelped, falling back onto the bed in pain. Kurogane stepped forward, grabbing Fai's hand, just to have the life squeezed out of it. "Didn't realize I'd gone into labor," he moaned.

"You wouldn't know until it became like this," Kakei said soothingly. "Now, I assume you're Kurogane-san? Yes? Good. If you can pick him up—carefully—and follow Yuuko-chan and I? Ah, good. Let's go."

Kurogane slid his arms underneath Fai's shoulders and knees, lifting him gently into his arms. Fai grabbed Kurogane's shoulders, pressing his face into his lover's neck, shuddering softly. "It hurts," he whimpered, digging his nails into Kurogane's back.

"It'll be okay soon," Kurogane soothed. He then cast a look at Kakei as he stepped into the odd inter-dimensional hallway. "Won't it?"

"We've got a room set up for him at Yuuko-chan's—I'll administer some anesthetics there, but he'll still be in pain because of his magic. His pains are of the unconventional type—it is an unconventional situation, mind you— The pain is actually the dimensional portal closing and dissapating within his body. There isn't too much we _can_ do about that. All the medicine will really do is numb it, and possibly put Fai-san to sleep," Kakei explained, slightly apologetic.

Kurogane scowled; the idea of Fai staying in pain irritated him. He hated seeing the blonde hurting, but here the magician was, crying from pain in his arms and he couldn't do anything for it.

"Ah," Fai gasped, back stiffening, "It's getting worse. Is that bad or good...?"

Yuuko sped up slightly, her heels clicking against the anti-matter floor. After a moment, they emerged in the shop, directly outside of a room that was furnished similarly to a hospital room. Kurogane carried Fai to the bed, putting him down gently.

"Kurogane-san, if you could get him to sit on his hands and knees for a bit," Kakei directed, pulling a pair of gloves over his hands, "It will help get the baby in position, and maybe help keep his mind off the pain for the moment while we get things situated. Remember what I told you, Fai-san."

Kurogane leaned over, helping Fai roll over, his hands rubbing gently against the man's back. "What did he tell you?"

"To bloody fucking think calm thoughts and visualize something pleasant, but that's not going to help a damn thing because I can't think of anything besides how much this really hurts, dammit!" Fai hissed, digging his nails into the sheets, hair falling across his cheeks as his face contorted in pain.

Kurogane was slightly stunned at Fai's language—the blonde almost never cussed like he just did. Well, actually, the entire situation was far too much over his head in general—the ninja felt like he was drowning. It wasn't a feeling he enjoyed, being helpless. He rolled his fingers into Fai's back, "Well, just do as he says," he mumbled softly.

Fai looked back his lover, face set in a scowl, "You are way too dirty to be in here," he snapped, irritated that Kurogane hadn't decided to agree with him about Kakei's useless advice.

"No worries, Fai," Yuuko laughed from the doorway, "He'll be kicked out soon enough."

"What?!"

"You'll be in the way," Kakei said gently, walking up with an IV. "If you could roll back over for me, Fai-san."

Fai complied, lying heavily on his back. Kakei leaned forward, gently arranging pillows behind the blonde's back, propping him up. "Say your goodbyes now; I've heard how possessive Kurogane-san can be—I don't think he'll like the prospect of me having to undress you."

Kurogane growled, "Damn right." Kakei looked at the angry ninja with a scary smile playing across his lips, "Don't challenge me, Kurogane-san. I'm sure you wouldn't win." "I don't care—you're not touching him—"

"Oh, shut it, Kurogane! I don't care what shit he's going to do as long as this baby gets born!" Fai snapped, "It's not like he's going to fucking molest a goddamn pregnant _man_! So swallow your damn pride and get the hell out!"

"See what I mean, Kurogane-san? In these cases, you'll never win—but then again, neither will_ I_—the mother always will," Kakei said brightly, leaning over to start removing Fai's robes. Kurogane swallowed, running a hand absently through Fai's damp hair.

The blonde's expression grew soft, "Love you," he mumbled quietly, wincing as Kakei fed the IV into his arm. "Now get out before I decide to kill you for making this happen. I _can_ do it, you know."

"You wished for it!" Kurogane protested. Fai grinned, "I did, but you're still to blame."

"Love you too," Kurogane snorted sarcastically, stomping out of the room. Yuuko closed the door sharply behind him.

"My, my, Fai-kun really does have such a colorful vocabulary," the witch chuckled, "I assume liquor would be appreciated?"

Kurogane didn't have the heart to bicker with the witch, he merely looked at her blankly; "He'll be okay, right?"

Yuuko smiled gently, "Yes."

"Good. You do have saké, right?"

"Of _course_ I do!" Yuuko lead Kurogane down the corridor, guiding him to a sitting room not too far away from the makeshift hospital room, which just _happened_ to be conveniently stocked with several bottles of alcohol. (Several miles away, Watanuki's 'Yuuko's-getting-drunk-at-weird-times-of-the-day' radar went off.)

**X**

The pain was lost in a fuzzy haze of unconsciousness and anesthetic. He was aware of being naked under the sheets as Kakei and an assistant—who he hadn't noticed before—set up a screen across his middle. His magic surged through his veins and everything went briefly black as something was traced down his lower stomach. After that, he couldn't remember anything else.

When he opened his eyes the sound of a baby crying filled the air and Kurogane was next to him, holding his hand. He looked up, grinning groggily, "Akachan?" he mumbled expectantly.

Kurogane chuckled, reaching out to take Fai's hand, "Hold your horses," he said gently, squeezing; "They have to finish cleaning him and stuff."

"_Him_?"

Kurogane bent down, brushing his lips to Fai's sweat-slicked, pale cheek. "You did good, mage. A baby boy."

"You smell like liquor," Fai scolded, sitting up. He was no longer naked, instead dressed in a simple, white, yukata. He surveyed Kurogane, who was dressed in something similar. "Oh dear, how long did it take?"

"About an hour," Kurogane said, shrugging. "The witch let me take a shower."

Fai nodded, anxiously peering into the corner where his baby's cries were coming from. "I want to hold him," he mumbled longingly.

"Soon," Kurogane promised.

Good to Kurogane's promise, Kakei walked over to Fai, placing his baby gently in his arms. Almost instantly, the little boy stopped crying, sniffling softly. Fai smiled tiredly, cradling the infant close, snuggling the white-bundled baby. "You know your papa, don't you?" he whispered in adoration. "Hello, Akari… my beautiful little Akachan…"

He sketched a gentle finger against Akari's skin, which was the color of coffee with crème, a shade or two lighter than Kurogane's own skin, slightly mottled with spots of red and darker brown; short, slick tuffs of ebony hair peeking out from under his swaddling. "He looks just like you, Kurogane," Fai breathed in wonder.

"He's going to have your bone structure," Kurogane pointed out gruffly, staring down at Fai and Akari in awe. But he could see a lot of his won features in the infant; he was struck with the strong urge to protect the little thing, rendering him speechless.

Fai gave a brilliant smile, tracing the baby's tiny nose and lips. Akari opened his mouth, sucking gently on the pad of Fai's finger, whining softly. "Oh," Fai gasped, looking up at Kakei and Yuuko, "How do we feed him?"

Yuuko smiled, "A bottle will be fine. There's some on the stand next to the bed. I'll send some more through Mokona. We'll let you three bond for a little bit—we will discuss fees and such when you're a little more rested."

Kakei smiled, "Fai-san, don't do anything strenuous until the stitches on your stomach disappear. That means _no sex_," he pointed out, wagging his finger. Kurogane growled softly. Akari scrunched his face at the noise, giving a soft whimper.

Fai laughed gently, "Don't scare him, tou-chan," he admonished gently, not even noticing Kakei and Yuuko slipping from the room. He slid to the side, holding Akari close. "Come on, daddy, get in here."

Kurogane climbed onto the bed next to Fai, looking at their baby tentatively.

Fai chuckled again, "Do you want to hold him? You can you know," he teased, "I'm not going to hog him too much."

Kurogane grumbled as he gently pulled Akari into his arms, looking a little fearful. Fai made a soft noise of amusement, adjusting Kurogane's arms slightly. "You're going to spoil the kid rotten, aren't you?" Kurogane mumbled, watching Fai's worshiping gaze.

"Maybe," the blonde laughed. "You'll just have to stop me, won't you?"

"No… I don't mind if you spoil him, as long as he knows right from wrong…" Kurogane smiled softly down at Akari, "'Cause…I'll probably spoil him too…" he breathed. He bowed his head, pressing a soft kiss to his son's forehead, murmuring a soft Japanese blessing.

Fai began to cry. Kurogane looked up in alarm as he heard the mage hiccup quietly, "Oi! Idiot, what's wrong?!"

"I'm happy!" Fai whimpered, smiling despite his tears, "I'm so happy." He lay against his ninja, his fingers trailing against his infant's skin. "I'm so happy it was you, Kuro-sama… Without you, I wouldn't…"

Kurogane cradled Akari with one arm as his other wrapped around Fai. Fai reached out, compensating for his lover's other arm, Akari supported between them. Kurogane pressed his lips to Fai's, holding him as tightly, but as gently as he could.

"I understand, Fai," Kurogane whispered, "Me too."

**X**

After a day and a half of recuperation, the new family was ready to return back to Nihon.

Fai sat, Akari in his lap, next to Kurogane on a sofa facing Yuuko.

"So, for this little job, I've already received half the price—and I trust you will appointing me as a second godmother…?"

"Consider it done, Yuuko-san," Fai said brightly.

"Good. Fai, the rest of the price is half of your magic."

"_Um_, what would happen to me if I did that…? I almost died the last time my magic got halved," he murmured thoughtfully.

"You know this already, but I'll elaborate: Your magic is the type that grows exponentially every time it is used," Yuuko explained, "You've been using it 24/7 for nine months—that amount of magic generated can easily kill you once you leave the wards of this house since you've not had time to adapt and grow with it— The entire time, that extra magic was devoted to nuturing Akari."

Fai swallowed heavily, "Is that so? Well, then, by all means," he agreed. He picked Akari up gently, the little newborn crying softly at being moved. He chuckled, carefully handing his baby off to Kurogane, who cuddled him to his chest, patting Akari lightly on the back.

The familiar magic circle sprang from Fai's hand and a bright light filled the room as he pulled a portion of his magic from his eye. Akari cried even harder, screeching in dismay. Kurogane sighed softly, rocking his child, "Shh, now. It's okay. He's alright, you silly thing."

Fai handed the smallish blue crystal to Yuuko, blinking as his eyes adjusted. There seemed to be no change at all. "Are you sure this will suffice? I assumed a baby would be a huge job."

"It is," Yuuko said haughtily. "But your magic is very powerful, Fai. And I'm just a little bit of a softie."

Fai nodded, leaning down to hug the witch tightly. "Thank you, Yuuko-san, for everything. You are as important to my happiness as Kuro-sama, and Akari are."

Yuuko looked mollified for a second, but then smiled warmly; "It was merely Hitsuzen, Fai," she whispered, hugging him back. "Congratulations. May Akari grow without hardship."

"I wouldn't allow anything else," Fai chuckled, turning to where his lover was currently struggling with his screaming baby. He took one look at Kurogane's distraught face, then burst out laughing. He swooped down, taking Akari in his arms, jiggling the baby gently. Akari quieted almost immediately, blinking up at his father with unfocused dark eyes.

"Akachan, your tou-chan is the strongest ninja in the world, but you just defeated him in one fail swoop," he cooed. "My brave, strong Akari. Were you worried about your papa?"

Kurogane stood, looking rather discomfited. "Why does he shut up for you?"

"Dunno—maybe it's 'cause he loves me more!" Fai teased, grinning up at his lover.

"Maybe it's 'cause you've already spoilt him! He's only three days old! He doesn't know what love is!"

"Oooh, Akari-chan, your Kuro-tou-chan is soooo scary!" Fai squealed. Akari blinked some more. He really had no clue what was going on, except for the fact that the person holding him now felt familiar and fed him. He liked being fed.

The portal they had used to get to Yuuko's house appeared again and they stepped in it, eventually winding up in Tomoyo's chambers. There was much squealing and cooing over Akari before the new family finally retired to their room.

Fai laid down on the futon, looking over as Kurogane tucked Akari into his small crib. "Oh, Kuro-tou, you're such a good daddy," he purred. Kurogane shot him a look, and Fai smiled. "It's going to be a lot of work, you know."

"Yeah. But when we go to Suwa, there'll be maids to help you out when I'm gone."

"You won't be gone often, will you?"

"No, I couldn't bear to," Kurogane admitted after a long minute. He settled down into the futon as well, pulling Fai to his chest.

"You've changed so much, Kuro-sama," Fai whispered, "It makes me love you even more."

Kurogane blushed, clearing his throat, "Well, you'd better, you idiot!" he blustered.

"I take that as a 'me too'," Fai laughed, dozing off into a light sleep.

Kurogane squeezed his lover gently. He knew his parents would finally be proud of him—and he hoped that when Akari grew up, he would be the type of father his child would be proud of, one that could protect him and his other father with all he was worth and love them so much it would fill the entire world. That was his goal now.


	7. Finale: Growing Up

**A/N: **_I've been battling my internet all day; it didn't want to load this. _T^T _Why doesn't my internet love me? The milk thing (Not the bottle blowing up), but the later thing was based on something my mother claims I did when I was a toddler. Lol. -_-;(This chapter explains why they had the crib—it wasn't just **there**. I am __aware of feudal history.) _

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* * *

_

**Finale: Growing Up**

"Fai?"

Fai stirred, blinking as he raised himself up onto his elbows. "Mmhnng? What is it? I can finally sleep on my stomach again."

"Sorry, but, I have to go—"

"Shit," Fai muttered, "You have that meeting with Tomoyo-chan, don't you?" He squinted into the half-light of their room at Kurogane's large silhouette. He could hear a faint whimpering coming from Kurogane's shadow, followed by a gentle 'shh' noise. "Was he crying?"

"I though he'd wake the entire castle," Kurogane snorted. "And all he wanted was attention too. He's turning out to be like _somebody_ I know."

"You're lucky he didn't blow up the bottle again, all right?" Fai muttered, remembering the first time Akari had used magic. The little boy had been hungry, but (like a certain father), he wasn't too fond of milk. So in the midst of his squalling, the bottle had exploded in a haze of bright blue light in Fai's hands. While he was proud his son could use magic at such a young age (two months!) he was not happy at all that he was covered in milk. "I can't believe I slept through that—I'm sorry, Kuro-tou…" He sat up, holding out his arms. Kurogane gently transferred their son into Fai's arms, running his fingers through Fai's hair as he pulled away.

"Don't worry about it—you're tired. You've not been sleeping much. I'd take him with me, but I think Shiro would eat him."

"God, I wouldn't put that past a Kamui," Fai mumbled, cuddling the infant. Akari cooed irritably, turning his cheek away from Fai. "Ooh, somebody doesn't want my attention. Has Kuro-tou turned you against your papa!?"

Kurogane scoffed, rising to his feet, "Oi, you moron, he's colicky. He did it to me too—in a few minutes he'll start wailing for you again. I'll be back."

"Love you," Fai yawned. He began to rock Akari, humming softly to the boy, trying to coerce him back into sleep.

A few hours later, Kurogane returned to their room, mood foul (this world's version of Kamui always seemed to do that). "Oi," he started, pulling their door open. He stopped, a faint smile stretching across his face as he was greeted with the sight of Fai and Akari asleep. Fai was sprawled out across the futon on his back, one arm flung off the side of the bed while the other was on Akari's back. Their son was cuddled up on Fai's chest, head tucked underneath the magician's chin, small hands tangled into his father's long hair. Kurogane slid the door shut behind him, kneeling down next to the two, staring contentedly at the two.

**X**

"Goddammit!"

Fai peered around the corner, raising a skeptical eyebrow at his lover, "Yes…?"

"That witch sent more crap!" Kurogane bellowed, pointing at a mountain of plush toys and clothes.

"Oooh, yay!" The blonde giggled, "Don't touch it; we'll be there in a second!" Fai's head disappeared around the corner as he went back to changing Akari.

Kurogane felt his eye twitch, "Forget it! I'm sending it back!" He snatched the mini-Mokona up, "Open up!" The Mokona stared at him, shaking its head. "Open your mouth! We don't want this stuff!"

Fai came out from their extra room, balancing Akari on his hip. The six-month-old clung to his father's robes, looking around curiously; "Hey, speak for yourself now!" The magician scolded, setting Akari down in the middle of the spread of toys. "He likes Yuuko's presents, and so does his papa."

"Obababan," Akari confirmed cutely. Fai squealed, leaning down to reward his son with a kiss. Akari had begun to make sounds that (to Fai) conspicuously sounded like actual words. Kurogane had yet to hear anything that sounded like coherent Japanese, but Fai blamed that on the fact that his ego was bruised because Akari's "first word" was 'papa'. (Okay, so maybe it was a _little_ true…)

"I can understand the big things, like the bottles and shit—" "What did I say about language around Akari-chan now that he's talking, Kuro-tou?" "…_Fine_. Bottles and _crap_, but this is getting ridiculous. But beds and toys and clothes and whatever the hell that thing over there is—"

"It's a pram, Kuro-tou, a _pram_. You push him around in it. We had them in Valeria… I _think_—I distinctly remember seeing one before…"

"We don't need that stuff!"

Fai settled down onto the floor next to his son, passing the toys into the infant's pudgy hands. Akari cooed in delight, drooling upon a bright green frog plushie. "_Well_… I do agree that we don't _need _it, and it certainly will be a pain to move it all when we go to Suwa…"

"Got that right. You should hear some of the people out in the main town! They think you're some sort of demon—saying you come from 'out west' can only explain so much!"

Fai waved it away, "Eh, who cares what they think. Now, as I was saying… It's not like we actually need it, but… I think its fine for Yuuko-san to send this stuff."

"It is not! She'll probably come and take away our kidneys or something one day! _I don't trust it_!"

"Your Kuro-tou is so _blind_, Akachan," Fai sighed, gently pulling away the now thoroughly soaked frog away from his son's mouth. He handed him a fuzzy purple elephant, absently smoothing out the tiny yukata Tomoyo had made for him. "He can't see that your Yuuko-obasan keeps sending this stuff so Kuro-tou won't 'accidentally' forget to let her see you." He ruffled the boy's spiked hair, grinning as Akari flashed a vague smile his away. "He also doesn't realize that your papa wants you to have way more than he ever did growing up," Fai continued with a sad smile, lifting the little boy up into his lap. "Yup, your tou-chan doesn't see the things in front of his nose sometimes.

Kurogane crossed his arms, absently kicking a small rocking horse. "Well… I'm at least going to call her on this manju clone and tell her we've already got more crap that we can handle. And she can take back all the plastic stuff—it can't be good for him if he keeps putting it in his mouth! I can make something if you really want him to have it."

"That's fine dear; just keep Moko-chan away from Akari—I don't want fur to get into his mouth again. They cried for ages afterwards," the blonde murmured placidly, cuddling the infant, who was staring at Mokona fixedly.

Sure, he liked all the nice stuff that Yuuko-obasan was sending him, but Mokona was still his favorite toy. It _moved_ and was shiny.

**X**

Fai sighed, sitting back on his heels, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "That's the last of it, I think," he informed Kurogane, who was currently rolling up their futon. "We need to be better housekeepers."

"Eh, we have people for that in Suwa," Kurogane grunted, sitting on the roll to tie it with raffia.

"You just don't like cleaning, do you?" Fai chuckled. "I'm going to check on Akari, then make sure we've gathered all his toys from around the castle."

"Souma has one, I think. The orange snake—you know, the one with wings? He left it there when she was babysitting him for us," Kurogane growled, punching the futon so it wouldn't unroll anymore than it already had. A little bit of the material it was stuffed with came out. Fai rolled his eyes.

"Okay, just don't break anything else while I'm gone." The blonde strolled into their extra room (Tomoyo had gotten their room renovated while they were away to have Akari—they'd come back to two rooms), finding Akari holding himself up using the table.

The infant did that a lot lately. He'd become thoroughly tired of crawling, and didn't like being totted everywhere. He could almost walk with Fai or Kurogane's help, but even then it didn't really constitute as walking—it was more like he was moving his legs while his parent's held him in the air. But it was enough that the little boy was frustrated, so he kept on trying on his own. He was covered in bangs and bruises from falling, and more often than not, his parents' conversations were interrupted by him crying after gravity took its toll on his wobbly legs. It worried Fai, because Akari was about to turn a year old—most of the children in Shirasaki his age were already toddling around. The most Akari could do was a few steps with something bracing him.

Fai stood in the doorway, trying not to disturb his son's concentration, watching as Akari braced himself against the low-lying table. The boy scowled, a fierce look he'd inherited from his father (though the sternness was negated by plump cheeks and large, heavy-lashed violet eyes), and lifted his hands slowly away.

Fai braced himself to go running to his son, for this was the part where Akari generally collapsed to the floor in tears. Instead, Akari just stood there, blinking in wonder. A grin spread across his lips, eyes lighting up.

"Akachan," Fai called, kneeling to the floor, "C'mere, Akachan."

Akari turned slowly, wobbling slightly. Fai blinked; the boy didn't fall down yet.

"Kuro-sama! Come here!"

"What is it?"

"I said _come here_," Fai hollered, "Now, Kurogane!" Akari blinked at his father's loudness, lurching forward. Fai grit his teeth, holding his hands out, "C'mon, Akachan, you can do it."

Kurogane raced into the doorway, almost tripping over Fai, "What is it, mage?" he demanded sharply.

Fai looked up over his shoulder, finger to his lips, "Look," he whispered, turning back to watch his son throw his foot out to catch his weight as he stumbled towards Fai. He heard Kurogane gasp behind him, and a brilliant grin settled on his lips.

Akari paused, looking around as if he was wondering why he hadn't landed on his butt yet. Encouraged, he moved forward again, and then again in the same hesitant way. About half-way to his fathers, he gained confidence and sped up, reaching Fai quickly before face-planting into the blonde's lap.

"Papa, papa," the child cooed, smiling sheepishly at Fai.

Fai gave a cry, gathering Akari into his arms, hugging his son tightly. Akari looked over Fai's hair in bewilderment up at Kurogane who was smiling gently down at him. He grinned up at his less-emotional father, "Yay…?" (Kurogane blamed Fai for 'yay' being Akari's third or fourth most favorite word, right after 'no', 'mochi'—which Akari affectionately called "mo-he"— and 'papa'.)

"Yeah, _yay_, silly," Kurogane responded gruffly, reaching down to ruffle Akari's hair affectionately.

"C'mon, Akari-chan, let's show Tomoyo-obachan and get you some mochi, okay?" Fai murmured, wiping his eyes. Akari squealed in delight, clutching his father's robes happily in a tight little hug. He then skittered away, stumbling into the other room. Fai rose to his feet, smiling brightly.

Kurogane pulled Fai into a tight hug, kissing his lover's cheek sweetly; "See, mage? There was nothing wrong. He just needed time." Fai nodded against Kurogane's neck, trying to keep from crying happily. Kurogane squeezed the blonde, "Next time let him take a little more time—let him be a baby as long as he can be…"

"Ah, Kuro-sama doesn't want our akachan to grow up does he?" Fai teased tearfully.

"Not really," the swordsman admitted blushingly.

There came a thump from the other room, followed by a loud screech. Fai laughed, hastily wiping his tears away. "It sounds like he'll be our baby for a little while longer!" He chuckled as he rushed to Akari's aid. Kurogane leaned against the doorway, watching Fai right their son tenderly.

"Keep it that way," he mumbled softly.

**X**

"No, no—I'm fine, really! I want to—ah, please!" Fai held the sleeping Akari away from the maid, shaking his head, "I want to do it, really, I do—you don't have to!"

Kurogane walked onto the scene, speaking with the new general of the Suwan army, looking rather serious about something. Then…

"No, it's not that I—oh, don't look like that!" Fai wailed, holding Akari in one hand, patting the distraught young woman on the back, "You can help—but I'm used to cleaning his room myself—it's really odd to share all of a sudden!"

"Then you must get used to it!" The maid declared, standing straight, pointing at Fai, "And I won't take no for an answer, Fai-sama!"

"_Ewww_, don't call me that! Fai will do, Suzuran-chan!"

"How far west did you say you found him?" Souseki asked, raising an eyebrow as he peered at Fai in amusement.

"Farther than you will _ever_ know," Kurogane grumbled. Fai was going to have a hard time adapting… _And why was his house so full of weirdoes?!_

**X**

"Kuro-sama, will you _please_ keep an eye on Akari when he eats in the morning," Fai sighed, dumping an armful of dishes into a bucket full of water.

"I do!"

Fai looked over at his lover, raising a skeptical eyebrow; "Really?"

"You don't believe me?" The swordsman bristled, folding his arms over his chest.

"No, I _do_, but…" The blonde ran a damp, soapy hand through his hair, leaving a small patch of suds on his forehead as he leaned back against the wall. "It's just that there's _more_ milk."

"I thought you—"

"I did tell him! I told him very firmly—" Kurogane snorted at the idea of Fai being firm with Akari; "I _did_! I told him that he was not allowed, at all, to take cups into his room!"

"And he still did it?" Kurogane asked, raising an eyebrow, "I didn't see him sneaking off a cup this morning—I'll ask the maids if—"

"No, no, I've told them all that they can go home, it's too hot to do much anyway," Fai said, raising a dismissive hand. Kurogane smiled softly, even after almost four years in Nihon, Fai was yet to be accustomed to the summer heat. "So I went in to tuck him in for his nap, and there was _more_ milk!"

"Where was it this time?"

"Certainly not where it was _supposed_ to be," Fai muttered, rolling his eyes; "I don't know where he's hidden the cup, but the milk was in the candle holders."

Kurogane snorted, "Wow."

"It's not funny! It's already soured by now! It smelled awful! What the heck was he going to do with it? I don't want him drinking it!"

Kurogane stepped forward, pulling Fai into his arms; "Calm down. Just tell him again—if he does it again, you'll have to punish him."

"I know," the blonde mumbled sullenly, "But I don't wanna," he whined.

"Want me to try?"

Fai nodded absently, laying his head against Kurogane's shoulder, "Good lord, though, I don't know _why_—he's not even remotely fond of milk."

"Who knows? That stuff's nasty—maybe its revenge for making him drink it…?"

Kurogane was rewarded with a soapy slap upside the head.

An hour later, Akari came into his parent's room, sleepy-eyed, dragging his little stuffed toy with him. "Papa?"

Fai laid down his book (recently loaned to him from Yuuko's personal store, much to Kurogane's distaste), and rose, scooping Akari up into his arms; "Good afternoon, Akari-chan," he cooed, nuzzling the toddler.

Kurogane cleared his throat, shooting a meaningful glance at Fai as if to say 'Weren't you angry at him earlier?'. Fai grinned apologetically over his son's hair, leaning over to set the little boy down next to Kurogane.

"Akari, your papa tells me he found milk in your room again," the ex-ninja said sternly, looking down at Akari. Akari brightened, nodding as he smiled innocently. Fai knelt in front of the two; "Akari-chan, didn't I tell you that you weren't allowed to take cups into your room?" he inquired, running his fingers through his son's sleep tousled locks.

"I di'n't."

"Akari, how did the milk get there, then?" Kurogane asked, scowling slightly.

Akari looked down at his hands, fidgeting under his father's gaze, "I took'd thems," he admitted slowly, "But I—"

"I told you that you couldn't take cups into your room, Akari-chan," Fai scolded lightly, "If you do it again, you'll have to be punished."

"Papa, I—"

"You heard him," Kurogane said softly.

Akari's lower lip trembled as he hung his head, "'Kay, papa, I won't."

Fai squirmed for a second, eyes darting from Akari to Kurogane, lips set into an adorable pout that Akari seemed to have inherited; Kurogane could only (correctly) guess that Fai's resolve was crumbling. "Fai," Kurogane warned.

"Aw," Fai squealed, completely giving in. A split second later, the toddler was covered in kisses and snuggles, entirely enclosed in his smaller father's arms.

"Tou-chan didn't mean to be so scary," Fai cooed, leaning his forehead against his son's. "Right?" Fai cast puppy eyes up at his lover, his look completely and perfectly emulated in the damp lavender eyes of his son.

"Why do you always make me be the strict one, huh?" Kurogane grumbled, leaning over to ruffle Akari's hair; "I'm sorry, you little brat," he said fondly, "But you have to promise us, no more, okay?"

Akari flashed a hundred-watt smile—yet another thing he'd inherited from the blonde—as Kurogane was reduced to putty. He held out his arms, and Akari clambered from Fai to his father, clinging against Kurogane's broad chest.

Fai laughed, settling in Kurogane's lap. Both he and Akari commenced smothering the ex-ninja in snuggles.

**X**

The next morning, Fai was busy straightening up Akari's room. It was a task that he rather enjoyed doing, even though the maids of the household were shocked at how much he did around the household. He was in the middle of straightening his son's growing collection of odds and ends when he found it.

"Dear lord," he groaned, "What does that boy think he's doing?" He picked up the small wooden bowl, normally used for incense (Akari had found it and therefore hoarded it), and took it out to the outdoor hallway, dumping the new batch of milk onto the grass.

He was dreading telling Kurogane already—it would be the first time that they would really have to punish Akari, and he just didn't want to. He sighed, crossing his arms, the damp incense bowl dangling by his fingers. "What else can we do?" He sighed in exasperation.

"Kuro-sama!" He called, marching towards the kitchen, "I've got to talk to you! We really need to keep an eye on—"

Something small bumped into his shins, and he looked down to find his son staring up at him, blinking dazedly.

"Akari, there was milk in your room, again, and," he began sternly, then stopped, staring at the boy's face.

Akari smiled up at him, milk trickling down his chin.

"Akachan," Fai said sweetly, "What's in your mouth…?"

A small muffled noise came from his son.

"Kuro-sama! Come here!" Fai called, already trying to stifle laughter. He knelt down, ruffling Akari's hair. "Akari-chan, what's in your mouth?"

After a second, Akari swallowed; "Milk!" he said confidently.

"And what were you going to do with that milk?" Fai prompted, shoulders shaking.

"I was gonna hide it for you t'find, papa!"

Kurogane came out from the indoor bath, hair dripping, robe rapped around him, "What happened?"

"I found milk in Akachan's bedroom," Fai laughed softly, grinning adoringly at his son.

"Dammit. Akari, what did we discuss yesterday?!" Kurogane demanded, kneeling down beside his son.

"No cups," Akari answered precisely, nodding sharply.

"Wanna know how it got there, Kuro-tou?"

"Yeah."

"Tell Tou-chan, Akari-chan," Fai urged, face pink with restrained laughter.

"Not in a cup!"

"Now tell him what you had in your mouth—tell Tou-chan exactly what you told papa."

"Milk! I was gonna hide it for papa to find!" Akari proclaimed, evidently very proud of himself.

At this point, it was too much for Fai to handle. He fell against Kurogane, howling in laughter.

"Tou-chan, what's wrong with papa?"

Kurogane's mouth twitched, "Nothing. Go to your room, we'll be there in a minute."

"…am I in trouble?" Akari asked quietly, looking up at Kurogane from under long lashes.

"No, no—now go."

Akari nodded, toddling off towards his room.

Fai continued to shake in laugher, crawling into Kurogane's lap. "Oh—oh, he wasn't using a cup! He did exactly what I told him to!" he snickered, shaking his head. He dissolved into helpless giggles, calming slowly as Kurogane rubbed his back, the swordsman chuckling softly himself.

"Damn we're in for hell," Kurogane muttered.

"If he's like this at two-and-a-half, how's he gonna be when he's a teenager?" Fai asked, finally quieting, eyes slightly damp with tears from his laughter.

"Hell," Kurogane repeated.

"You would know, huh? He got that from you, I bet," Fai accused, smile on his lips.

"I always followed the rules! Okay, fine, I ignored a good deal of them," the darker man conceded. "Are we going to punish him?"

"How could we? He did exactly what I told him to—no cups," Fai giggled, leaning in to steal a kiss from his lover. "We'll… just set down the law a little more explicitly."

"That _might_ work."

**X**

Fai lay back on the futon, his eyes fluttering shut. He couldn't manage to fall asleep completely, though, as half of him was listening intently for Kurogane to return. He sighed softly, turning on his side, finally admitting to himself that his lover wasn't going to return that night. Whatever Tomoyo had wanted, it must've taken longer than the ex-ninja had anticipated.

He dozed off rather quickly after resigning himself, so he didn't hear the door open slowly. The patter of soft feet neared the bed and Fai was awoken by a small hand on his face, "Papa…"

Fai sat up, reaching out sleepily to pull his son to him. "Hmm? What is it Akachan?"

Akari clung to his father as Fai lifted the small child into his arms; "Where's tou-chan?" he murmured, tears heavy in his voice, "Papa, where's tou-chan? I heard the monsters again…"

Fai couldn't help but laugh gently, "You need Kuro-tou to scare them away?" Akari nodded softly, burying himself in Fai's chest. "Shh, it's okay, Kuro-tou will be back soon. Papa misses him too."

"He still loves us right?" Akari asked mournfully, tears trickling down his cheeks as he clutched at his father's clothes.

Fai melted; Akari always, even as a newborn, managed to wrap his slighter father around his finger. "Oh, shush, Akachan; Kuro-tou will always love his Akari and his Papa," he admonished gently, nuzzling the boy's silky black hair.

"Papa, when will tou-chan be back?"

"Oh, I don't know," Fai sighed wistfully. He set Akari down on the futon, rising slowly. He leaned down and picked the boy up in his arms, carrying him outside.

The two settled on the front porch of their home in Suwa, Fai's bare toes curling in the warm grass. He looked up at the sky, the moon full and hanging low. "We'll wait for Kuro-tou together, okay?" he murmured, tweaking Akari's small nose.

The boy flashed a brilliant smile, the tears drying in his eyes. Fai chuckled, straightening his son's yukata, moonlight shining against his skin. The boy was small for five—Kurogane had been right about Akari inheriting Fai's bone structure; he was delicate, with large lavender eyes, and soft, curling black hair. When he was younger, it spiked just like his father's, but as Akari and his hair grew, it settled into the flyaway waves of Fai's hair. His skin was a light tan color, a mix between his father's darker complexion and Fai's snowy one; it had lightened as he grew, but during the summer, he tanned as dark as Kurogane.

"Papa…"

"Yes, Akachan?" Fai murmured, cuddling his son.

"Tell me the story, you know, the one about papa and tou-chan."

Fai smiled softly, "Kuro-tou's already told you the story… wouldn't you rather hear the one about the dragon and phoenix that Tomoyo-obachan taught you?"

"Please, papa? Please?" Akari begged, pulling a puppy-face he could have only learned from Fai, leaning up to kiss his father's cheeks. "I want to hear about papa and tou-chan! Tou-chan doesn't tell it good! You tell stories so much better! Please, papa, will you tell me the story?"

"Okay, okay, Akachan, I'll tell you the story, since you asked _so_ nicely…" Fai reached out, taking his son's small hands in his own, smiling; "Once, a little while ago, there was a ninja. He was the strongest one that the country had _ever_ seen—"

"That was tou-chan, right!" Akari cheered happily.

"Yes it was, and your Tomoyo-obachan sent Kuro-tou away because he was _so_ strong, but he didn't understand why he needed to be."

"What about you, papa?" Akari asked reverently, settling in Fai's lap. Fai cast his eyes up at the moon, giving a gentle smile, "There was a kingdom with a wizard and a king. But the king was dying, and the wizard was afraid of losing the king, so he sealed him away so he could sleep and live forever; but the wizard couldn't stay, because he knew the king would be mad at him for keeping him alive."

"He wanted to die?" Akari asked, his eyes worried, "But, then he'd be gone, like the kitty…"

"Yes… he would, and the wizard didn't want him to die because he loved him so."

"But," Akari whispered, "The wizard was _you_, right? 'Cause tou-chan says I can do magic because of you… don't you love tou-chan, papa?" His lips trembled, "You love me and tou-chan, right? You still love us, right?"

"I love you, my darling Akachan, and I love your tou-chan very, very much. You see, I loved the king like you love tou-chan or me," Fai said softly, "The king raised me after he found me—I was an orphan you see."

"You didn't have a papa or a tou-chan? Or even an obachan?"

"They died when I was very, very young," Fai whispered, "And I didn't have any family to take care of me. For a very long time, I was afraid of other people because I lived alone."

"Then tou-chan came, right! He saved you, because he was so strong!" Akari said knowingly, nodding.

"O-ho! You're jumping ahead of the story, Akari!" Fai scolded playfully, tickling the boy, who was squealing in delight, "It's no fun if you already know the ending!"

Akari blinked, and then put his finger to his lips, nodding at Fai to continue. Fai huggled his son for being so adorable, kissing him on the cheek before continuing:

"Well, the wizard and the ninja met a witch, along with a boy and a girl—"

"Onee-chan and nii-san! And Yuuko-obasan!"

Fai laughed at Akari's enthusiasm, continuing the story, careful to edit out the gorier and scarier parts of their journeys. Akari, even though his eyes became heavy with sleep, declined all of Fai's offers of sleep, insisting that his father continue the story. The moon sunk into the sky, the black-violet of midnight slowly easing to deep morning.

Akari stared up at Fai, his attention rapt. Fai cast his eyes out, meeting the eyes of his lover, much to his surprise. He smiled, shooting him a meaningful look as he continued the story.

"And then your tou-chan did something I would have never guessed he would do," Fai murmured.

Kurogane reached out, seizing his son, "I saved your papa from his stupid self," he growled, lifting Akari high in the air.

Akari shrieked happily, "Tou-chan, tou-chan!"

Kurogane lowered Akari to his chest, the little boy scrabbling onto his shoulders, hugging him tightly. Fai rose from his perch, smiling, "I see what you mean, Akachan, he doesn't tell stories very well."

Akari giggled, pushing his face against his father's neck; Kurogane shifted his son in his arms so that Akari was nestled in the crook of his right arm. He held out his metal arm, Fai drifting lightly towards the two. He folded Fai close to him, "And what are you two doing up so late?" he scolded, squeezing the blonde, "It's nearly morning."

"We wanted to wait for you, didn't we, Akachan?"

Akari nodded, yawning widely, his eyes drooping. He laid his head against the curve of Kurogane's shoulder, drifting to sleep; "We wanted to wait for tou-chan."

Kurogane smiled gently at his son, "Well, I'm here," he murmured, rubbing the boy's back with his thumb. Fai cuddled deeper against his lover, petting Akari's hair. Akari was asleep within moments under the soothing attentions of his fathers.

Fai stood on his toes, kissing Kurogane deeply, careful not to bump his child. Kurogane's mechanical fingers tightened against the mage's side, returning Fai's passion with a once-uncharacteristic gentleness.

"Welcome home, Kuro-sama," Fai beamed. "We missed you… Though," he chuckled, casting a tender look down at his little puppy, "I think Akari missed you enough to last an entire world. He adores you, you know."

Kurogane pressed his forehead to Fai's, staring into the heavy-lashed cobalt eyes. "He worships you," he retorted. Fai grinned, nuzzling Kurogane; "He's such a good boy," he whispered, voice trembling. "God, I love you both," Fai murmured thickly, eyes glistening.

Kurogane nodded, his arms tightening around both Akari and Fai. "Yeah…"

In the distance a rooster called and the sounds of the maids beginning to scurry about the house filled the air as the small family stood, framed against the sunrise.

**End**


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